35 Money For Nothing
At first I didn't know what to think, my second thought was abortion ... but with the current state of medicine, it would be easier for me to kill Svete myself. FUCK ... I'll be a father. Why is this happening to me? I'm not a bad person ... I have minor sins on my conscience, but everyone has them ... this day was going to be really good. I will not change what happened ... but in the future Sveta will have to swallow.
"Lord? Are you all right? You turn pale." (Sveta)
"Yes, I am fine. Before you came, I found out that my grandfather died. I must have turned pale from that." (MC)
"But you said you were in a good mood and that I should undress ..." (Sveta)
"This is how I was hiding my despair ... leave me alone now, we'll get back to this conversation." (MC)
Sveta lowered her head and left my office ... FUCK. I didn't like children, they were little harmful parasites ... I'm exaggerating a bit, sometimes they were also useful ... for example, cleaning chimneys, or other work where the adults could not reach.
I have to think calmly ... her pregnancy is a fact. My fatherhood, I'm 99% sure of that ... of course is never 100%, but Sveta was loyal and devoted, I may not be happy with the situation, but I'm not going to make a slut out of her because of it. I am a nobleman, I cannot recognize a child, having a bastard can ruin my plans and damage my reputation ... Let's approach it logically.
Every situation has some advantages ... If Sveta gives birth to a daughter, I will marry her to some rich farmer, craftsman or merchant, I will give her 200 or 400 ducats of dowry and the topic is closed, or she will become a nun ... I gain nothing from it, but I also get rid of the problem cheaply, but if she gave birth to a son, my possibilities are greater ... I will make him a noble, there are plenty of poor nobility who will do a lot for a few ducats. I will educate him and make him a priest, and using my acquaintances and gold, I will give him a good career and quick promotions in the church. It will be good to have a bishop or cardinal who will obey me ... If he does not have the talent to learn ... I'll find him a wife, I'll give him gold and that's it.
One thing about this whole situation is good ... I'll have fresh milk every day.
Being calmer, I called Svete and had a conversation with her, I explained to her that I could not recognize this child, which she understood. I also explained to her my plans for the future of the child, she was satisfied with them.
The next thing I had to do was the funeral of my grandfather ... despite the winter and bad weather, I set off on my way back to Tarnów ...
Preparations for the funeral took three weeks, everything was decorated with splendor and wealth, but in my heart I hoped it would end as soon as possible, I wanted to take care of more important things than the funeral of a man I hardly knew... a few days after the funeral, my grandfather's will was read out.
My aunt Euforzyna, her husband Aleksander Zasławski and their son Dominik. They inherited castle in Stary Siole, the surrounding lands and 100,000 ducats. My grandfather's wife, Teofila Tarło, only got 20,000 ducats. He also put a few servants and a church in the testament, but these were small amounts, a drop in the ocean ... and the rest was mine ... only mine ... I inherited 80 cities and towns, 2760 villages, 900,000 ducats in cash. Furniture, silver, jewels, paintings, books worth 600,000 ducats and the equivalent of 700,000 ducats in various coins, a small addition was 1,000 stallions and 4,000 mares. I was in heaven ... and I was hoping that my grandfather was too, I was almost starting to miss him.
With the takeover of the estate from the deceased, I also inherited his court, which consisted of over a hundred people, they were servants, cooks, several equerry, craftsmen, including three gunsmiths and two bell-founders, dog guardians, a falconer, three secretaries, and an accountant. It solved a lot of my problems and they worked for my grandfather for years, so their integrity and loyalty shouldn't be a problem either.
The following days I got acquainted with financial matters and I was very impressed with what I saw, every year my grandfather's lands brought from 350 to 400 thousand ducats, after deducting all costs, taxes, there was from 250 to 300 thousand profit left...
"I know that most of the land I inherited is in Volhynia, smaller amounts of land are also in Podolia, Lesser Poland and Bracław." (MC)
"That's right, Lord." (Secretary Lisowski)
"You will take my letter to the Voivod of Kiev, Tomasz Zamoyski, and inform him that I want to buy his land in Podolia, and in return I will give him the land in Bracław, and if that is not enough, I can pay extra 100,000 ducats." (MC)
"Is that reasonable, Lord? Bracław is famous for its honeys, rich forests ..." (Secretary Lisowski)
"And there is almost no population, frequent attacks of the Tatars, revolts of the Cossacks ... even if I build a fort there and place an army, the cost will exceed the income from the land, and the Zamoyski family already has their estates in that area." (MC)
I spent a few more days in Tarnów, I issued additional regulations ... as soon as the winter is over, the busy months will begin. I also invited my grandfather's widow to Jazłowiec, he left her only 20,000 ducats and not a single property, it was in a good tone for me to fix my grandfather's mistake.
(Sveta / Olena POV)
"Mom, why do you have such a big belly?" (Olena)
"Mom is pregnant, I'm going to have a baby, and you will have a new brother or sister." (Sveta)
"What do you want? Boy or girl?" (Olena)
"All I wanted was to clean the floor." (Sveta)
(End POV)